Police Registration Help

How to use this card

1. Save the image to your phone before traveling. We recommend screenshotting all 12 rescue cards and saving them to a dedicated “China Travel” album on your phone, so they’re available offline.
2. Open the image the moment a police officer in uniform stops you and starts speaking Chinese. Stay calm, smile, and have your passport ready.
3. Show the Chinese text (top half of the card) to the officer. The pinyin is there as backup if they want to read it phonetically.
4. Read the English translation to understand what they are asking for in return.

What the officer will likely say

• “把护照给我看一下” (Let me see your passport) — A standard document check. Hand it over with a smile; they will scan or copy the photo page and the visa page.
• “登记一下住宿” (Register your stay) — This is the 24-hour rule. They want to record which hotel you’re staying at and for how many nights. The hotel normally does this for you at check-in.
• “去哪里？做什么？” (Where are you going? What are you doing?) — Routine questioning. Show your hotel booking or itinerary on your phone.
• “没有问题，可以走了” (No problem, you can go) — You’re free to leave. Most street checks last under 2 minutes and are purely routine.

Pro tips

• Always carry your physical passport — not a photocopy. Police in China are required to verify the original document, and digital copies will not satisfy them.
• Your hotel is supposed to register you within 24 hours of check-in — keep your hotel receipt as proof. If the hotel forgot to register you, they will usually walk you to the local police station to fix it.
• Stay calm and polite — Chinese police checks on foreigners are almost always routine. A smile, a nod, and your passport are usually all that’s needed.
• Save the hotel’s address in Chinese characters on your phone — police will often ask which district or street you’re staying on.
• Screenshots work offline — make sure you have the image saved to your phone, not just bookmarked in a browser.

Related guides

• China Travel Safety Guide — police checks, what to expect, your rights
• Booking Hotels in China as a Foreigner — the registration process your hotel handles
• China Visa-Free Countries 2026 — which visa-free stays trigger the registration requirement

When this won’t help

If the police stop is part of a real investigation (very rare for tourists) or if you have an actual document problem, this card won’t resolve it. Instead:

• Ask politely for an English-speaking officer — large cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou) usually have at least one English-speaking officer on duty.
• Call the 110 tourist helpline — this is China’s universal police number and they can connect you to someone who speaks basic English.
• Contact your embassy or consulate if you feel your rights are being violated — most embassies have a 24-hour emergency number.
• Have your hotel manager or tour guide come to the station — they can translate and vouch for you in person.